By popular demand, here’s a thread for discussion of the New South Wales council elections. Can’t tell you much about them myself, except that they’re on tomorrow. Antony Green has an index of candidates and the ABC will be publishing results, no doubt in more digestible form than the New South Wales Electoral Commission.
I write the talking points emails, albert.
I’m always amused by the way Greens think they are exempt from the laws of politics. They adopt all kinds of extreme policies, then when other parties call them on those policies, they get all self-righteous and offended and say, “hey, you can’t criticise us, we’re the Greens, we love trees and stuff.”
In Albert Park, Labor pointed out that it was Vic Greens policy to close selective high schools. There is a large selective high school, MacRob Girls High, in the electorate. So Labor put out an ad asking the Greens why they wanted to close one of the best schools in the area. Shock horror! Howls of outrage! How DARE Labor remind the voters of our silly far-left policies!
Oh, did Labor point it out? Forgive the fine people of Albert Park for being confused since the letter didn’t mention the ALP or the local candidate.
Anyone who’s read Green policies on education knows that the goal isn’t to run around hunting selective schools and shutting them down. But clearly it’s easier to misrepresent that and also come out with stupid statistics like “Greens vote with Liberal 68% of them!”. Hmm, and Labor votes with them even more! Shock horror!”.
But this is all very off-topic.
Well, not really. Because after last night we will see lots of Greens crowing about how Labor is on the way out in the inner city and how the Greens will win Balmain and Marrickville etc. I’m reminding you that Labor knows how to defend these seats and will do so. When you play with the big kids you have to expect to get sand kicked in your face.
They didn’t do a very good job of defending them yesterday…
Labor lost skin yesterday and plenty of it but, given the circumstances you couldn’t expect them not to surely. The amazing thing is that that’s all they lost. It could have and maybe should have been far worse.
Oz, I am talking about state electorates. I already said why I think local elections are different.
Gary, yes. Now that I look at the results, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it might have been.
Adam
With $16 million plus in developer donations in the past 5 years you would expect the LAB/LIBs to do well wouldn’t you?
Or they just for sator-ial purposes?
I am in favour of banning corporate donations to all parties.
I think we can write this off as damage control.
So it shows that if your leader says you’re going to get absolutely smashed, and then you do get smashed but not quite “absolutely” you’re allowed to pat yourselves on the back.
To a limited extent, yes. I’m not saying it’s a good result. I’m saying it could have been worse.
Kevin be praised, the drought has broken! (In Queanbeyan anyway)
One of the Labor candidates in Blacktown rang my mate’s mum (the lead Green candidate) and told her that she’s currently only 17 votes behind the lead liberal candidate for the 3rd spot in the ward after the transfer of Labor’s surplus votes. Australia first polled 5% so it will come down to their preferences.
I estimate the Greens won between 66 and 102 seats, depending on how preferences flow in some wards.
DR Adam, sweetie! Your comments are hilarious! Amazingly our gender has MOVED on darling and the Greens are IT!!!!! Get with it or get out!!!!!
Which gender would that be, Brenton dearest?
Your reply REVEALS ALL Sweetie!!!!! Very tired of ALP Conservatives!!!!! No matter what gender, Sweetie!!!!! SO many people are SO upset , at all the socalled with ITS!!!!!The ALP are on the DOWN, SWEETIE!!!!!
Adam, I don’t know any Greens that will not defend our actually policies, but the ALP in Victoria think that they can spin about us and think if they say it enough, and loud enough, then people will believe it without qualification. We ARE outraged by this stuff because we are very careful not to play that game ourselves. For example, the ALP claimed we made a deal with the liberals and the evidence? We voted with the Libs 90% of the time in the upper house. Not an untruth, but a stupid gambit given the ALP voted with the liberals at something like 70%! A lot of the time all three parties voted together. In the period quoted by the ALP the Greens and Libs voted against the ALP together 6 times. And if you want to talk about non-existent preference deals can i just say Senator Fielding? Cheap shot, I know. Old politics, dishonest politics, business as usual. The Libs hate us more than they hate you and they never talk to us. They have preferenced us in the inner city to embarrass the ALP but you wait and see who they preferenced next time if they think we have a chance of winning lower house seats. Will that indicate an ALP/Liberal deal? Of course not.
You continue to say we have looney policies, especially on drugs. Care to elaborate? Care to defend the overwhelming success of the Labour/Liberal deal on drug policy? Use of legal and illegal drugs under control? Associated antisocial behaviour under control? Organised crime control on the wane? How criminalisation and the subsequent incarceration of drug users is working great guns?
Message to the Greens, you are not taking over the Inner city, so you are winning council seats well done, the City of Melbourne has had several Liberal party mayors, I don’t see the Liberal party claiming they are going to win the seat of Melbourne and have not won a seat covering Melbourne CBD for 100 years.
The Greens are very touchy, sure the Liberals and the ALP people can be as well but the Greens are good at playing the victim
The Greens are travelling well as the Liberal Party has declinded, but in many cases the Inner City has a history of three or four major political groupings, the Greens have not invented the wheel.
In writing that the Greens will continue to envole as will the ALP and the Liberal party but as much as things change the more they will stay the same.
Greensense the reson why the Liberal Party does not talk to you is they feel you will not talk to them and aince you are rather predictable in always perferencing the ALP why would the Liberal Party talk to you, just as the ALP know they have your perferences in the bag, this will change when the Greens start being more than a protest party which is starting to happen but will take a generation or so and will happen has the Green vote grows but like any party you have a natural limit remembering both major parties claim about 35% of the primary vote.
mexicanbeemer, We have no intention of talking to the Libs about ANYTHING and the moment we do, I’m out of here. No deals with the Tories. Period. There are members of the Greens that think the trees are more important than broader issues and would do a deal no matter what. Their influence is of no significance. You are beginning to see some sophisticated approaches by the Greens on many levels. Eg, the problem in the senate is…..
Its interesting that the Greens have now had two weeks of stellar results, a 4 % swing to them in WA, twice the size of the swing to the conservatives and now this result in NSW. There are the conditions for the perfect storm for the greens for the next few years, ALP in trouble at State level, Federal ALP at historic highs, a completely delusional and inconsequential LIB thing that no one really wants to vote for and a growing membership and public awareness around CC and environmental/sustainable issues. etc.
I wonder how the MM will spin these latest movements, or will they use their old techniques of ignoring a party that gets 25% of the vote of the old parties yet struggles to get 10% of the coverage.
Greensense! I understand that the Greens are not talking to the Liberal Party but in your comment you seemed to wish they did talk to you. I can think of many issues that should Interest the Greens in fact should Interest all Political Parties, you mention Trees! yes the Enviroment is a very Important policy area but and not inspite of trees for an unhealthy Enviroment is unhelpful to anyone but the boarder issues are things like increasing traffic congestion, failed welfare poilcy which sees why too many Australians locked out of the Education and Employment market, many of these people waste away on DSP and general welfare, and increasing violences caused by a Legal system that has become soft and an Education system that is obessed with trying to please everyone rather than just focusing on teaching childern how to be adults, of cause I could go on all night but this is a thread about the NSW Local Government elections.
The Greens are the big winners.
The losers are the two majors and their reliance on dirty developer money.
The ALP, Libs and Nats didn’t have the clackers to brand candidates on Saturday. The ALP bloke in Wagga simply blacked out the ALP logo on his corflutes. Gutless. Lots of Liberal Party money flying around but no Liberal Party candidate. Again gutless. The Nats stood the NFF’s Farmer Brown with no official endorsement but lots of money. Gutless yet again.
The fact that there is (likely) going to be a Green on Wagga Council – in the peaceful form of Ray Goodlass – speaks volumes.
Bring on the 2011 NSW state election. The Greens are going to give the machine-dominated, head-in-the-sand ALP a run for its (considerable) money.
Adam in Caberra 308
So we should ban corporate donations
But Union donation is fine?
If you want to ban something ban all donations
The green does not accept property developer donation …. that is because they do not want to donate to the Greens
Greensense
The enemy of an enemy is a friend.
I would be surprise if the Lib does not preference the Greens
Politics is not about stitching up the other faction or the other party, that is ALP politics, politics is about getting good legislation that will benefit the people through, without hurting too many people. When the Greens moves closer to that, they will be more likely to hold the balance of power
That is also why the ALP preference the Nat in WA
follow the preference
That would be wrong
The swing to Lib was 2.8% the swing to National was 1.5%
The ALP in WA and independants lost 4% to the Greens and 4.3% to LIB?NAT
Dovif,
It would be interesting to see where the voters went, I fancy that the majority of the ALP votes went to the Greens but we will never know. It will be interesting to see if the Northern Territory/WA jump in the Greens vote continues in the next election. I think its the ACT election.
Oh and by the way , the strategy of “my enemies enemy is my friend” is a very slippery slope.
Any more new information on the Council elections.
I see Adam is here sprouting the same nonsense as that anonymous letter sent to Albert Park residents.
It’s an old trick to keep saying extreme over and over again (much like Weapons of mass destruction and Iraq) and hope that the mud sticks. Whether you like it or not the Greens are slowly but surely gaining and Labor cant keep using the same tricks. The number of people who are mistrusting Labor pamphlets keeps growing each time. It may well be the Party that cried wolf a few too many times.
The Greens are gaining ground in Melbourne, Northcote and Brunswick. Richmond is changing and Demographics will push away from the Greens. Prahran is also slowy turning Liberal in Demographics as well as Albert Park. Even John Thwaites was aware of that.
Labor will find itself fighting on two fronts in coming elections. Inner city against the Greens and everywhere else the Liberals.
damian – The first “after preference” results have come in but they’re from small country councils where everybody runs as an independent so they don’t tell us much.
Damian! Prahran and Albert Park have always been Liberal by nature I would also throw Hawthorn into that group!
Richmond, Melbourne, Brunswick historically were more socialist.
The reason that the Melbourne City Council has such a conservative tinge is because it has all those business and landlord voters and the fact that the municipal reforms in the first term of the previous state Liberal government cut some residential (read left wing) areas, such as North Carlton, out of it.
Richmond would almost certainly go to the Greens at the next election if the ALP promises to build the road tunnel because that is one of the areas most effected by a connection to the Eastern Freeway in an area that is very left wing (Fitzroy/North Fitzroy).
Melbourne has a large anti-left swing in the ever expanding Docklands area (very high income).
R.I.P. The cosy arrangement between the LIB/LAB and their dominance at all levels of government all across Australia is DEAD.
Thank goodness for The Greens and their honest friendly visionary policies.
There is still a lot of work to be done to clean up our governments and councils, but it can be done and The Greens are showing the way.
Any one who can’t see this historical watershed taking place across Australia,
have not been paying attention,
or are paid party hacks spinning to save their jobs.
Thanks to all The Greens, we love you.
In the eight council polls fully counted (all contested by at least one registered political party) the figures are follows:
ALP 24
LIB 18
GRN 16
IND 27
GRN pickups: 5
The NSWEC site is a schmozzle. To get the elected candidates results (after they’ve counted preferences) you need to download a PDF, which only has the names, not the parties. It takes a while to go through but so far I’ve managed to work out the following
Leichardt
6 GNS
3 LIB
2 ALP
1 IND
Lane Cove
4 LIB
3 IND
2 GNS
Marrickville
5 GNS
4 ALP
3 IND
Hurstville
5 ALP
3 IND
2 LIB
1 GNS
1 UP
Waverley
5 LIB
3 GNS
3 ALP
1 IND
Kogarah
5 LIB
4 ALP
2 IND
1 UP
Ashfield (Only 1 ward counted so far)
1 GNS
1 IND
1 LAB
I think these are the rest of the results in councils where party names were used and all wards have been counted. I may have missed a council or 2 but I’m pretty sure I haven’t.
Holroyd
4 ALP
4 Holroyd Independents
4 LIB
Manly
5 LIB
3 Manly Independents
1 GNS
1 IND
1 ALP
North Sydney
11 IND
1 GNS
Randwick
5 LIB
5 ALP
3 GNS
1 IND
1 No Parking Meters Party
Ryde
4 ALP
4 LIB
4 IND
Strathfield
3 ALP
2 LIB
2 IND
In Woolondilly, the Greens were the only party to use their name and only ran in 1 ward but just missed out it’s 9 IND.
First Results from Blacktown in.
Ward 1 has gone 1 ALP, 1 LIB and 1 IND.
More results
Blue Mountains ( 2 of 4 Wards counted)
2 GNS
2 ALP
2 IND
1 LIB
Hawkesbury
5 LIB
5 IND
1 ALP
1 GNS
Penrith (1 of 4 wards counted
2 ALP
2 LIB
1 IND
Rockdale
5 ALP
5 LIB
3 IND
1 GNS
1 Yvonne Bellamy Independents
Sydney
5 Clover Moore Independents
2 GNS
1 ALP
1 LIB
Tweed
5 IND
1 GNS
1 LIB
I’m STILL hanging out for the Wagga result.
I’ll be further hanging out if the Greens get a spot on council: a celebratory nudie run down Bayliss St is on the cards.
Full Ashfield now in and a few others.
Ashfield
4 ALP
3 GNS
3 IND
2 LIB
Canterbury
5 ALP
2 IND
1 LIb
1 GNS
Parramatta (No Greens in any ward for some strange reason)
5 ALP
5 LIB
1 Parramatta Better Local Government Party
1 Lorraine Wearie Independents
1 Woodville Independents
Penrith
6 ALP
6 LIb
3 IND
@ Fagin – according to the Greens rundown they got up in Wagga – Ray Goodlass
I’ve made a spreadsheet with all the results so far with the council name then amount of candidates elected by party for that council area and the party name or persons name if Independent for directly elected mayor. If anybody wants a copy put your email address here or send me an email – pauly_aus @ hotmail.com
p.s I’ve only included councils where the candidates ran under party names, all the councils where every candidate is an Independent are not included.
Spreadsheet now available at – http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9osV30CxRFwUgxwLKYjNBw
Fagin – Wagga results are in. Goodlass was elected. Start warming up for that nudie run.
YOU LITTLE RIPPER.
A Green on Wagga Council!
Who’d have thunk it?
Off with the daks…
Spreadsheet and graphs available at my blog – http://australiavotes2007.blogspot.com
Fagin,
Wouldn’t that be a crime against humility?
At this stage of counting GRN are now represented in these additional LGAs:-
Armidale Dumaresq (in New England)
Burwood
Canterbury
Hurstville
Lake Macquarie (2)
Lane Cove (2)
North Sydney
Tweed
Wagga
Warringah (2)
Willoughby
GRN lost ground significantly in Newcastle where representation has dropped from 4 to 1 but in most other areas where GRN candidates ran they held their ground or increased representation.
Of particular interest are the pick ups in areas like Lane Cove, North Sydney and Warringah where the ALP has either never run or has done so sporadically.
Perhaps so, GG.
A bigger crime against humanity is local governments – particularly Wagga, with its cashed-up middle-aged male WASP councillors – shacking up with developers and bulldozing community concerns along the way to a personal profit.
A Green, in the form of Ray Goodlass, on Wagga Wagga Council is a breath of fresh air.
Let the gorillas beat their chests and thump the table. Ray Goodlass will do no such thing. Ray’s a humble man of peace who brings vibrancy and colour to the white bread world of Wagga Wagga City Council.
As a side note: Farmer Brown of the NFF won 7.3% of the group ATL & BTL. The Greens won 6.1%. Not bad given the size of the LGA and the history of Wagga. The big winners in Wagga were the cashed-up Lib stooges (where did the money come from? Don’t worry, I’ll find out) who are promising to build a Hiscock Memorial White Elephant, on Hiscock land with ratepayer money, in times of great economic uncertainty.
Money still rules.